Spontaneous Trip to Portland

Last weekend, Nathan, Dustin, Carter and I went to Boise, Idaho to go visit a very dear friend of ours, Haley. We left Salt Lake City Friday afternoon, and headed towards Kuna. It was quite an adventure, but we got there with no major events at about 10:30 that night. We unloaded, took a tour of Halo's beautiful home, then played a wicked game of "Spin Uno!" It was a lot of fun and good to be unwinding.

Saturday we decided we were going to go to Swan Falls and look around. Well, the name was very misleading because there are no falls, just a river, but we had a great time. We put Carter in the water and he loved to splash around and play. Dustin and I also got in to just keep an eye on Peanut. We then walked around the grounds and decided to have some family pictures done. It was a lot of fun, and we really enjoyed being outdoors. We then headed up the hill, praying we wouldn't run out of gas since the light had come on and we were in BFE, and saw more fun photo ops. So, we of course took some more pictures and then moved on. We went back to Kuna, got gas, and then went and had Mexican Food, it was DELICIOUS! The rest of the day was spent at Halo's playing games, drinking margaritas, and watching movies.

Sunday morning we decided to go to Oregon. I had never been there and thought it would be fun to add another state to my bucket list goal. (Hit all 50 states by the time I'm 50) So, we drove into Ontario, Oregon for Breakfast at Rusty's. They had really good food, and it was yummy to eat some real breakfast food. As we were sitting there, we decided to drive 100 more miles to go to the Oregon Trail Museum in Baker City. So, we got back in the car and headed West on I-84.

As we were driving Haley started talking about these beautiful falls that were in Oregon, Multnomah Falls. Well, we debated for a little while and then decided to bag the museum and just head towards the falls. Shortly after that decision was made, she then brought up how close Portland is to these falls. So...we started kicking around the idea of spending the night in Portland. We made some phone calls, got a room booked and headed west for Portland.

During the drive we were able to cross a couple of bridges, that then put us into White Salmon, Washington. Sweet! Another state I hadn't been to! So we stopped looked around the little town, bought a shot glass, and kept on going.

Once we hit the falls, we decided to take pictures at Horsetail Falls, but decided to hold off til Monday for Multnomah Falls. We wanted to have some time in Portland. So, we headed towards our hotel room, checked in, and then headed downtown Portland.

We ended up eating at Kell's Irish Pub and Restaurant, and that was so fun. They had happy hour so food was $3 and the drinks were cheap. We then cruised up and down Portland roads adn the boardwalk by the Columbia River. It was gorgeous. I forget how much I love water and bridges.

We headed back to the hotel about 11:30 and crashed. We were back up and going by 6:50. We grabbed McDonalds for breakfast, gassed up, and went to Multnomah Falls. It is incredible! We were able to take the hike, and see the waterfall. It is the second tallest, year round waterfall in the nation. It was truly amazing. So, of course we took pictures and then were back on the road.

On our way, we crossed back into Stephenson, Washington, and took the road on that side til White Salmon. It is gorgeous! The water and all was beautiful. The Columbia River is incredible and full of life. We were also able to see Mount Hood, which was amazing. It snows on that mountain year round. It was a beautiful sight.

We got back to Kuna, Idaho about 4:30, packed up, and was headed back to Salt Lake City by 5:30. So, 1700 miles, 13oo pictures, 4 states, 3 shot glasses, and a priceless amount of fun and spantaneity, we arrived back to the great state of Salt, aka our home, at 11:30. Here is to spontaneity and friends who are willing to go for a ride! Cheers!